Pave streets with green! Minister’s tree crusade

Tree-lined streets should become the norm, the Housing Secretary said as he announced a major shake-up of the planning system.

robert Jenrick said he wants a ‘fast track for beauty’ to ensure well-designed homes are quickly approved and built.

He said good design will be at the heart of the system, championing tree-lined streets and a commitment to lower carbon emissions in all new homes.

Mr Jenrick told MPs he wanted to save struggling high streets by converting empty shops into new homes. And he suggested councils should consider building above shops to provide more housing.

Announcing his plans yesterday ahead of a white paper later in the spring, Mr Jenrick also revealed that building in high-risk flood areas would be reviewed.

‘i want everyone, no matter where they live, to have access to affordable, safe, quality housing and live in communities with a real sense of place as part of our mission to level up, unite and unleash the potential of this country,’ he said.

‘This is just the first step so we can deliver the homes communities need and help more young people on to the ladder.’

Councils will be encouraged to take a more innovative approach to home-building – by ensuring redevelopment of high streets is housing-led, building upwards and above and around stations. The Government will launch a register of socalled brownfield sites to encourage councils to make the most of this largely unused industrial land first – backed by £400million.

All local authorities will also need up-to- date planning blueprints known as local Plans in place by december 2023 so enough homes are built for their communities.

Under new plans, developers will be able to demolish vacant commercial, industrial and residential buildings and replace them with homes without getting delayed in a lengthy planning process. And ministers will review the way in which areas assess how many homes are needed and incentivise those that deliver on those numbers.

The Mail’s Be A Tree Angel campaign is supporting efforts to plant trees across the UK. With the backing of our readers and business leaders, we aim to plant more than 100,000 trees across the country.

Mr Jenrick told MPs that changes to the planning rules may be required given the apparent ‘regular and more acute’ flood risk facing some parts of the country.

He added the wider aim is to create a planning system that ensures housing supply meets demand.

‘We should seize the opportunity to consider how the built and the natural environments can work together more harmoniously.

‘in that spirit, i’m announcing today that i will be reviewing our policy to prevent building in areas of high flood risk. Given the recent devastation suffered by so many of our communities, we’re putting in an extra £ 5.2billion into flood defences,’ he said.